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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27522157">strengths (and weaknesses)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/crunchy_rocc/pseuds/crunchy_rocc'>crunchy_rocc</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, spoiler warning for November 16th streams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 05:34:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,051</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27522157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/crunchy_rocc/pseuds/crunchy_rocc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy is strong, no matter what anyone says.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>238</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. strengths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>tommy has a bad time for 1.4k words</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tommy's always strong, no matter what anyone says. He's never scared and he'll stand up for what he believes in. He steps into a <strike>friend</strike> traitor's bunker and comes out alive, he stares straight into the enemies eyes and tells them to go to hell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His leader stands with a hand in the air, counting. Tommy holds a bow in his, arrow knocked in and ready to fire. No matter what anyone says he doesn't tremble. He's not in a cold sweat, he stands proud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first arrow misses, for the both of them. His hands shake in </span>
  <em>
    <span>adrenaline, </span>
  </em>
  <span>not fear, he's not sure if he'll land the next--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Sometimes he dreams of this, the whistle of an arrow and white-hot pain that engulfs his body. He can't think past the panic and pain, falling back into the water behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Tommy sinks down, heavy and cold, red floods his vision. He used to like the color red. He's seen too much of it lately. He can't breathe, and the river </span>
  <em>
    <span>burns</span>
  </em>
  <span> down his throat and in his nose and wishes he could fight back, but he's so, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wakes up with a jolt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Breathing too fast, gripping at his stomach where the arrow that killed him should be. They try to calm him down, but he can't come down. He falls back asleep with tears in his eyes and gripping a brown haired boy.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cuts some losses, an ache in his chest when he gives away his most prized possessions. He'll get them back someday, he knows and vows it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur wants to have an election. It'll be rigged for them, he says. They're going to win anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy, despite three other campaigns running, cheers for the short second he believes that they won. And then the pool votes, and its all going down hill. The goat man at the podium, the new president, removes their citizenship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crossbows are pointed at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(An arrow whistles closer and closer.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He runs, runs until he's heaving and even then they can't stay still for long. They're going to get caught and killed, his mind screams at him. They're going to die. He's never going to see Tubbo again. He's already lost the country he fought tooth and nail for. He's already lost the country he died for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite what Wilbur says, he looks even more tired than when they were in the war. He doesn't know what to do either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(He can't sleep the first few nights. When he tries to, he can only hear the same words over and over again. He can still see the red mixing in water, but this time instead of just a masked man staring down at him, it's everyone he grew to love.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He's so tired but he can't stop fighting.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno comes as fast as he could. Tommy tries to strike up a conversation, but it trails off and he's left to farming potatoes. Wilbur won't come out of the room for himself that he mined out, and Tommy is left to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He's going to steal from Fundy, he decides, and he does. Before he leaves, glancing around to make sure no one sees him, he catches sight of the skeleton horse the hybrid has. Tommy comes on foot, and leaves on horse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(It could have been the lack of sleep that did him in, after all, horses usually panicked when their rider did. Maybe he was looking for something that wasn't there, he was suddenly inhaling too quick to get some actual air in, tugging at the reigns, and was thrown falling off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Curled up on the grass, gripping a sword in his shaking hands. He couldn't get up. He couldn't think, he was back with the people he loved chasing him down, following orders of a man just put into office, like the time they all spent together meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He sobbed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone called his name and he gripped the sword tighter. He was going to die, he was going to be killed, he shouldn't have gone out, this was his end--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was upright and holding onto someone like his life depends on it. Soft hands carded through his hair as he buried his face in their neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can trust him.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time marches on. He tries his best to get even stronger, training with Techno and getting information from Tubbo. He plans to take back L'Manberg with everything he's got.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur spirals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so cold," Tommy had heard the words coming from Wilbur's room. He repeated the words over and over and over again. He paused at the doorway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't know if he could help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A festival was announced. Wilbur snapped, falling into the pit of paranoia and fear and grief he had dug himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>("Are we the bad guys, Tommy?" The elder had asked. "Are we the villains in this story?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy's breath caught in his throat. He glanced behind him, movements stiffening. "No. We're not."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The breathy laugh startled him. He spun on his heel, stopping in his tracks. "Why not?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We built this nation and we should have won the election," he said slowly, trying to pick the right words. "We didn't deserve to be exiled."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then let's be the bad guys.")</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wilbur wanted to blow up L'Manberg. The country they built with their own hands. The land they fought for, the freedom that came with it. His brother wanted to destory it </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They couldn't!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He argued, pleaded with the taller. They could get it back. They could fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't listen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The festival came quickly. Wilbur was having doubts, which was great! They didn't have to blow it all away. But Wilbur gave Tubbo the option, that if he said the last words of his speech, then he'd better start running.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So his speech started. And ended with "let the festival begin." </span>
  <em>
    <span>That wasn't right.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He was in a box on concrete, nervously laughing and trying to play off the accusations Schlatt was implying. It wasn't working. Techno was called up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Take him out."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Tommy could only focus on Tubbo. The world erupted into red, white and blue. The blood curdling scream that followed would never leave his ears, and he pearled over and swung. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tubbo was dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno was laughing, and the sound of fireworks continued.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You killed Tubbo!" Tommy screamed, putting himself between his friend and his </span>
  <em>
    <span>traitor</span>
  </em>
  <span> brother. "You just blindly followed Schlatt's orders!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To be fair, I was under the effects of mild peer pressure."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pit was made. Tommy didn't hesitate to lunge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Techno stood above him. He was down for the count.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tommy the thing is you're using words," he started, crouching down so the younger didn't have to crane his neck. "But the thing is about this world, the only universal language is violence, and we just had that conversation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another swing, then darkness.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spent most of his time with Tubbo. Part of him wished they had run away. He wasn't doing this for himself though, he was fighting for everyone and he couldn't let them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quackity joined them, soon enough. After witnessing the… breakup, only a day later, Tommy welcomed the ex-vice president into their little ravine. He was going to help them win L'Manberg back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got caught quickly though. They were going to war again. There was a traitor among them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were- they were going-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>("Please," Tommy had said in a rush, holding onto Tubbo's arms. His best friend blinked in surprise, moving to hold him better. The blond's knees were buckling. "Don't leave me. Don't be a traitor. I can't lose you, Tubbo, I can't lose you too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last word cracked, and so did Tommy. He wasn't weak, he didn't want to cry, and yet here he was. Hot tears streamed down his face. Tubbo, the angel, his friend who he loved so, so much, lowered the both of them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should be stronger, he shouldn't be breaking down in tears. Tubbo was probably going through so much more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I… I won't Tommy." His best friend said quietly. Anyone could see the way his hands shook. Anyone could see the look he was giving him. He didn't trust him fully either, did he? "I'd never betray you.")</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There's another war on the horizon. It's coming soon, and Tommy's on the grind to make sure they </span>
  <em>
    <span>win.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If he doesn't though, he'll be sure to see Schlatt in hell.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. weaknesses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Despite what Tommy says, he has his weaknesses.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Despite what Tommy says, he has his weaknesses. Everyone does, but he's a little afraid to admit he cares a little too much, and he hides behind his loud and rude persona. He stands in between the home he made for himself, for the family he built along the way, and the brother who he grew up with. Panic and fear and grief and sadness fill him to the brim be he doesn't let it show. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur knows him. The brunette is no longer the man who raised him, that man died long ago and all that's left is a paranoid and reckless shell of his former self. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he still sees through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>("You're scared, Tommyinnit," he said in a hushed voice, cradling the shorter boy's cheek. Tommy ever so slightly cringes away from the touch. Yet as soon as he settles he has the urge to lean into it. Wilbur's grin grows. "I can see it in your eyes, Tommy, you're scared.")</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy's terrified during the festival. He tries his hardest to calm down Wilbur, and his brother is hesitant. It's working, he can work with this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still wants to blow it all sky high. Wilbur gives Tubbo the option, with just one sentence. When the boy does say it, Wilbur is scrambling off the roof.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tubbo is trapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tubbo is executed, by the hand of the other man he thought he could trust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Tommy's spent so much of his time pretending to be a bigger man than he is that he doesn't know how to respond to his own fear and panicked thoughts anymore. He fuels it into anger and stands with his fist raised at the hybrid that used to ruffle his hair after watching his antics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knows he can't win and he's already panting. They haven't even started their little "duel" and Tommy's out of breath. He's glad he's focusing on fighting soon, because otherwise he might have been pulling at his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno's mouth is pressed into a too thin line. He knows that face. It makes him even more frustrated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur shouts for them to start behind them, Tubbo's hesitantly trying to cut in. His mind flashes back to his best friend's body broken and burning in his arms and his breath dies in his throat, choking him, reminding him of the smell of cooked skin and chemicals that stole his breath earlier, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>lunges.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy doesn't last long after that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wakes up later with someone holding him, burnt scars marking his skin, and shatters.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It's just him and Tubbo and Niki. But Quackity joins them soon enough too, after a fight with Schlatt. And then Fundy comes around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The book shows them that Schlatt is completely and utterly alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until he isn't.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>("There's a traitor among you all, and it's going to be even more of a surprise compared to Eret's betrayal." Tommy stands in between the green clad man and his allies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>None of them could be a traitor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right?)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The day of the war comes along. Techno leads them into a bunker, and Tommy's the only one to say it reminds him of something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Because he'll never get the image of his family dying in front of him, and he's the only one who makes it out. Eret never comes back to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn't know if he can trust Techno just in case he ended up like Eret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno didn't want power anyway, but he never stood with Tommy and Wilbur's cause.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They wear the piglin's armor, they fight with weapons they all grinded for, they fight tooth and nail to get their home, the place they built from the ground up with their own blood and sweat and tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There's injuries from both sides, but Techno supplies them with potions that keep them from falling. Barely any of them die and have to respawn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He barely dodges after freezing from the sound of arrows whistling by.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream surrenders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Schlatt's still holding the broken glass bottle, and Wilbur is busily trying to brush off and clean where he broke it on Fundy's head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reeks of alcohol.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still has a sneer on his lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still hears the same speech.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy and Tubbo are pushed out of the room and out of the door.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They took back L'Manberg. They got their home back, and Tommy can't stop shaking. Everyone doesn't seem to notice, laughing and cheering and hugging.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a celebration after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy is pushed to the stage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He can't accept presidency, he knows he can't. He's already on the virge of tears, voice shaking and knuckles white from where he was gripping the microphone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He passes it onto Wilbur.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn't accept either. Tubbo is given the title of president. His speech fills Tommy with pride and a warmth that spreads across his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy would make a wonderful president. He's already got the citizens rooting for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stands steady and strong at the podium where he was killed, publicaly executed. Tommy wasn't even able to stop the memory, and he wasn’t even the one hurt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tubbo is a born leader, and Wilbur was right. He never was going to be president.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It doesn't last long. It never does.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno is angry, angry at Tommy and Wilbur and Tubbo and all of them. He kills Tubbo again. There's blood rushing through his ears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He should have seen it coming. His brother had always said he doesn't like the government, and he was right. They just forcefully took it over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pinkette slaughters the crowd and he realizes with a jolt that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur isn't there.</span>
  </em>
  <span> There's hissing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then the land he worked so hard to give its own freedom, the land he called home and made memories in, the land that he killed and died and gave up his prized possessions, gave his everything, his time his blood his energy his body, is gone with a press of a button.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He doesn't like fireworks or explosions anymore. They remind him of a friend's cooked skin and melted eyes, bloody chest ripped open in a spark of beautiful colors. It wasn't the way he should go out. He should have never gone out in the first place. He was a dazzling, radiant light. He wasn't meant to burn bright and burn out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It reminded him of a brother's broken rambling and eyes filled with fire but no life behind them. He stood so strong and up against everything and everyone not so long ago. He stood for the people and family he made along the way, he wasn't supposed to be a glass bottle forcefully broken.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The piglin laughs at him, and tells him to die like a hero. His own brother, his own inspiration and his own hero, telling him to die.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Technoblade never died. You can't be exactly like your heroes, he thought bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Maybe he needs new ones.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he places six wither skulls down, and screaming erupts around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smell of burning skin fills the air again, and he doesn't know if it's from those he considered his brothers or the monsters that attacked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Who was he kidding, all four of them should be considered monsters.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He fights and fights and dies a couple times but they </span>
  <em>
    <span>win, </span>
  </em>
  <span>no one's going to get hurt again. Tommy can make sure of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He hopes.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(There's a pause in the middle of the battlefield. Between the dizziness that has him tipping to the side if he stands still too long, and the ringing that silences everything, he's not sure how he caught sight of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ringing fades out, but he still can't focus on everything going on around him. Tommy sees this perfectly clear though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Philza, Phil, </span>
  <em>
    <span>their dad,</span>
  </em>
  <span> is screaming something Tommy can't hear over the withers and the screaming and laughing and yelling. Wilbur looks as manic as he always does, striding forward with a sword in his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a terrifying second, Tommy thinks he's going to stab the blond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he doesn't. He spins the sword around and pushes it into the other's hand. Phil jerks away, and he can hear him shout "You're my son!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur laughs and gestures towards the chaos, towards </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he watches as the brunette places the sword in the winged man's hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phil grips it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With an upward slice, he hesitates. Wilbur urges him on. His neck is slit open and pours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy watches his brother collapse in his father's arms. He watches him be blown away as dust, the red still staining the blond's clothes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He'll respawn soon, </span>
  </em>
  <span>his mind tells him. But his traitor body and brain work against him, and the rest is a blur.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Tommy ends up falling face first into the ground, where he doesn't wake up no matter what for five minutes. When he comes back to, pitching forward with a gasp he's asking for Wilbur. He has to make sure he's okay. Everyone who's there shares a look over his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wh- where's- where is- he- where's  Wilbur-?" He stumbles over his words, panicked and confused. Phil crouches in front of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They say they don't know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He couldn't even protect his family.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Tommy wonders what's next, sitting on their bench. Cat plays and fills the air. He would be smiling, two months ago. All he feels is regret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It starts like how it always does, before they fought for their freedom, before they held an election, before they fought to get their land back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tubbo smiles at him, and he can hear Philza in the background. He still doesn't trust Techno, but it feels like his old home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He longs, and hopes for a better future. For all of them.)</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HOUGH TKBSKSBS...... HEY GOUYS..... so how we feeling after the streams &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>firsr finished fic pog ! can we get an f for tommy though</p></blockquote></div></div>
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